CULLMAN —
The emergence of Zero RPM in Cullman County last week is an example of how government can play a beneficial role in economic development.
The new company has vast potential with its invention that will save energy for law enforcement car, ambulances and other vehicles that are used in large quantities and left idling. The presence of state-funded Wallace State Community College as the incubator site for Zero RPM is a key reason that the company has a jumpstart in the business world.
Some people, in this age of anti-government rants and libertarian blow-offs, take exception with every move that government makes.
“How dare they spend our tax dollars to provide this or that. We don’t need government in our business.”
Is that right?
Government is simply an extension of people. Taxes are paid so that we can help our state, our community and our neighbors. From unemployment compensation to assisting job-producing industries, government is one important way that we take care of our business.
The issue of dwindling revenues among states and cities has some root in overspending and mismanagement. Most people agree that government has become large. But a downturn in the economy has also reduced the coffers quite heavily.
Voters can force government to become smaller, more efficient entities. But what anyone who votes must also consider is that the public, generally, has been responsible for wanting more services at the government level. The new, lean approach should be to preserve what government can do well for the greater good of the nation and the states. We need business incubators at community colleges so that new investments can occur in our cities. We need unemployment assistance. We need food and shelter for helpless, blameless children. And everyone wants a strong national defense. Right?
Casting out duplication and layers of bureaucrats would be a great start to trimming government’s size. To compliment that effort, each state needs a healthier number of private-sector industries and businesses employing people. Government, as witnessed in Cullman County, can actually be a partner in making that happen.
Editorials
When government helps
- Editorials
-
-
Editorial: Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
This amounts to spying on an American news organization -- common practice in dictatorships but scary conduct in a democratic system that prizes the public value of an independent watchdog press.
-
EDITORIAL: The IRS' Turn to Answer Questions
Washington is now sinking its teeth into a real scandal: the Internal Revenue Service using ideological criteria to choose the targets of its attention.
-
Editorial: The house of death
The grisly details emerging from the murder trial of a Philadelphia abortion doctor place a glaring spotlight on a national disgrace.
-
Editorial: Murder, insanity and guns
James Holmes, the accused movie theater shooter in Colorado, would like for the public to believe he killed a dozen people because he was insane.
-
Lasting partnerships
Economic development officials have long noted the importance of expansions by existing industries and businesses in a community to lead growth.
-
COMMENTARY: Why does young adult fiction keep giving its heroines makeovers?
Over at This Ain't Living, s.e. smith (who, full disclosure, has guest-blogged for me at ThinkProgress) has an excellent post about one of the most pernicious trends in young adult fiction.
-
A spirit for moving forward
This weekend marked the two-year anniversary of a deadly day of tornadoes that streaked across Alabama, claiming lives and property and changing the landscape of many communities.
-
Faith and bombs
The investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing is pointing to the all-too-familiar theme of religious faith playing a major role in violence.
-
Keeping the US safe
The empty streets of Boston as authorities searched for two terror suspects was an eerie reminder of the vulnerability of innocent people.
-
A time for change
Alabama lawmakers will head into the final stretch of the legislative session with a new member on board, Randall Shedd of Cullman County.
- More Editorials Headlines
-
Editorial: Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
Raw: School Bus Crash Injures Five Children
Quick Response Saved Baby on Phila. Train Tracks
One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
